Tailgating tales: Church group tailgaters pass on tradition

Oct. 19, 2010

After securing the television antenna to the roof of his LSU canopy, Richard Dewees (left) and Jack Stevens check out the score of the Auburn-Arkansas football game Saturday afternoon while waiting for the start of the LSU-McNeese State game. / John Marcase/jmarcase@thetowntalk.com

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Jamie Stansell (from left), Richard Dewees and Jacob Stansell chat while waiting for angus burgers and sausage on the grill to finish Saturday afternoon from Lot D at LSU. / John Marcase/jmarcase@thetowntalk.com

Love to tailgate?

If you love to tailgate at football games (high school, college or pro) and want to recommend yourself or someone to be featured in The Town Talk's "Tailgating Tales," contact reporter Jodi Belgard at jbelgard@thetowntalk.com or call her at (318) 487-6344.

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Some tailgaters delight in keeping their delicacies and their workload simple. There's no fancy RVs or long weekends devoted to crushing beer cans on their foreheads.

Pineville residents Jamie Stansell and Richard Dewees have been tailgating together for quite some time, and for them, it's about fellowship and family.

Both Stansell and Dewees have 7-year-old sons to whom they hope to pass on the tailgating tradition.

It started early for Stansell, whose family tailgated at LSU games when he was a boy.

"My dad taught me (how to tailgate)," he said. "We used to go just about every weekend. It was always planned, and the first topic was what we were going to cook."

"We never got into the elaborate stuff like roasting a hog or anything like that," Stansell said. "It was always more finger food to where you didn't have to refrigerate anything, you didn't have to worry about potato salad or anything."

Back then, Stansell spent his time playing football with his cousins while his dad and uncle cooked. But times have changed.

"I have a son who is 7, so I have to cook and throw the football," he said. "You have to be careful, because I almost burnt the hamburgers Saturday."

It was on that Saturday, Oct. 16, when Stansell and Dewees made their annual trek to Tiger Stadium with some of the men from First Baptist Church in Pineville.

"It's a whole fellowship for the guys," Stansell said. "It's almost like you're camping and going to a football game."

"Sometimes it's fun to just get out of town and get a chance to visit," Dewees said. He admits that tailgating requires a good bit of effort.

"It's work," Dewees said. "But it's a fun kind of work. Preparation is the big thing. You have to bring all of your spices and sauces with you. I have a propane grill, and we do a lot of camping, so we have all the utensils at the ready. When you're driving from Pineville to Baton Rouge, you can't carry as much equipment."

But it's important to have more than one ice chest.You need one ice chest for drinks and one ice chest for meat," Dewees said. "You don't want to mix your drinks and your meat."

Dewees, who is an LSU graduate, said he has been privileged to be around some master tailgaters. He's seen people cook everything from shrimp and crawfish bisque to fried

alligator.

As of now, neither Dewees nor Stansell has any plans to up the ante on their tailgating food. One reason is time. Another is responsibility.

"When I was growing up, it was real relaxed," Stansell said. "I feel like now I'm more rushed, and along with going is the responsibilities. It's not as comfortable tailgating at LSU as it was back then. When I was growing up, it was real relaxed. Now, you're driving home after the game, and Sunday morning you gotta get up and go to church."